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Tuesday, 28 May 2013

The demands of a mummy!

Long time no blog!

I am now almost 20 weeks pregnant and if I said I am feeling exhausted, that would be THE biggest understatement EVER made!lol!

My last two pregnancies have been fairly text book - sickness until about week 13-14, tiredness at the beginning, again around 16 weeks and then towards the end, and some good days, and some bad days. Erin and Lara are 14 months apart, and when I was pregnant with Erin, our eldest, I thought I was having a tough time! Ha!!! I could have naps in the day when I needed to (when I wasn't at work! Those days were lunchtime naps!), I had a blissful maternity leave and managed to blitz the house and see my friends regularly for tea and cake.

Second time around, I found the demands quite hard. I found out I was pregnant not long after I returned to work when Erin was 6 months old, and my time wasn't quite so free and easy. I found myself having easy days watching a film and lazing around, whilst Erin was happy pottering around me. Then the inevitable guilt trip that I wasn't entertaining or stimulating Erin enough and was therefore neglecting my daughter.

Lara arrived and life stayed fairly quiet in terms of trips out of the house. I had c sections with both my daughters and so my recovery time afterwards was a time of just getting through the day. I had the car and could get out whenever I liked, even if I was shattered and take a trip to the local supermarket to have a change of scenery.

Third time has been completely different and I'm only halfway through. Having two toddlers to look after whilst feeling pregnancy exhaustion has been a killer, and the last two weeks I've barely ventured out the house. Mr Strong now has the car to get to work as we now live in Norfolk, and getting out the house involves far more motivation and effort. Erin and Lara play together really well, so it's not all bad, and despite there being times when it's a struggle to do anything, most of the time they are happy at home. On days where we have needed fresh air, we have walked around the block and visited the park just around the corner from our house.

I haven't had any sickness with this pregnancy, just nausea in the evenings from about week 7 until week 10. And I'm not "working" during this pregnancy. I've posted before about Stay At Home Mums here but we really don't get the credit for what we do! I find it much easier being at work! That said - I have had the option of staying in my pyjamas and lounging on the sofa if I've had a bad day, which I think has played a part in feeling like I've had less symptoms.

There will be 19 months between Lara and baby no. 3, and I am really glad now that it will be that way - I'm so glad we will have had our children close together even if it wasn't quite the timing we had planned when we first got married!! But having two toddlers and being tired constantly is taking it's toll, and I know it's only going to get worse.

I still have to entertain my daughters, I still have to cook dinner, do the washing, do the cleaning, avoid the ironing (which I never do anymore!), have a social life, spend time with Mr Strong, figure out why the fish tank is leaking, and pretend that I have every intention of having smooth legs permanently throughout the summer!!LOL!

I am so looking forward to meeting our new addition, and in just over a weeks time we will hopefully find out what gender it will be. A number of people reacted negatively when we announced our pregnancy, and although it wasn't planned, we are over the moon! One person seems to feel like we are being completely irresponsible by having another, and has given the impression that we'll "just have to deal with it" but it will be "very hard work". Come on!!!! There are so many people out there that would love to have a child, whether that's because they are having fertility issues, or cannot afford to have another, via social pressures aren't able to or in third world countries would love to have the safe environment and security we have.

We have SO MUCH to be thankful for! My life might be demanding, and I might have days where I think all I would like is to sit someone in silence with a book, a cup of tea and a slice of cake, and let the day drift on by. And whilst that would be amazing... I would be bored!lol! Once you are a mummy, that's it, life changes dramatically, for the better, and it may not feel like that sometimes, but it becomes part of who we are.

So when I have days when I am feeling completely overwhelmed, I dream of big family Christmas' in years to come, of having children's friends in and out of our house, of not knowing how many are staying for dinner, and of future Mother's Day cards with scrawly writing in but with words of love inside.

Life is good, we just have to alter our perspectives sometimes to see that :-)

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About Me

I am a Wife to Mr Strong, and a mother to Erin, Lara & Caleb. I am an organiser by nature and obsession, I love cooking, I love baking even more, but most of all I spend most of my time trying to be Supermum!